Greetings friends and neighbors!
I hope the new year has been good to you so far. As promised, in the coming months I will be focusing my attention here on Underground Memphis toward the rich history that surrounds us in every corner of our city. Throughout that history, events that have happened in Memphis have been instrumental in shaping not only American culture, but in influencing the world. From the vast wealth that sprang from the cotton plantations along the Mississippi River, to the tragedy of the Civil War, The great Yellow Fever epidemic, Robert Church, Clarence Saunders, Boss Crump and Elvis Presley, to the murder of Dr. Martin Luther King, Memphis has left an indelible footprint upon the world. I’ve always chuckled to hear Nashville referred to as “Music City”, or at the fact that The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is located in Cleveland Ohio of all places! Most especially because the names of those whose talents gave birth to Rock and Roll are engraved there. Names like Isaac Hayes, Ike and Tina Turner, Elvis Presley, Al Green, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash, Bobby “Blue” Bland, Ma Rainey, The Staple Singers, and Booker T and The M.G.’s. Now I’m not trying to knock Cleveland, or Nashville for that matter, cause it’s the Capitol of Tennessee and a pretty nice city, but let’s get real. As the short list of artists above will illustrate, as well as the fact that anyone who understands music will testify to, the true birthplace of Rock and Roll is Memphis Tennessee. But it goes even deeper than that. The music that was born at Sam Phillips’ Sun Studios on Union Avenue has roots that go back even farther. Way farther. Today we’re going to visit the very crucible from which all American music was forged by the hand of a gentleman named W.C. Handy, Father of only true American art form, The Blues.
The story begins back in 1841 on a street named Beale. Beale Street was created in 1841 by entrepreneur and developer Robertson Topp ,who named it for a forgotten military hero. The original name was Beale Avenue. Its western end primarily housed shops of trade merchants, who traded goods with ships along the Mississippi river, while the eastern part developed as an affluent suburb. In the 1860s, many black traveling musicians began performing on Beale..In the 1870s, the population of Memphis was rocked by a series of Yellow Fever epidemics, leading the city to forfeit its charter in 1879. During this time Robert Church purchased land around Beale Street that would eventually lead to his becoming the first black millionaire from the south. In 1890, Beale Street underwent Major renovations .In 1899, Robert Church, paid the city to create Church Park at the corner of 4th and Beale. It became a recreational and cultural center, where blues musicians could gather. By the early 1900s, Beale Street was filled with clubs, restaurants and shops, many of them owned by African-Americans. In 1902, amid all this growth, entertainment and excitement a new theater was constructed at 329 Beale. It was named The Daisy. The Daisy Theater was host to some of the brightest and best talent of the day, Including Dancers, magicians, and the best musicians in America.
One of those musicians was a young trumpet player named William Christopher Handy, a Blues musician and composer who would be known as the "Father of the Blues". Though he was one of many musicians who played the distinctively American form of music known as the Blues, he is credited with giving it its contemporary form. One only has to listen to hear the heavy influence of this pure music form in today’s contemporary music. The musical forms and styles that are now considered the "blues" as well as modern Country music arose in the same regions during the nineteenth century in the southern United States. Recorded blues and country can be found from as far back as the 1920s, when the popular record industry developed and created marketing categories called “Race Music” and “Hillbilly music” to sell music by blacks for blacks and by whites for whites, respectively. At the time, there was no clear musical division between "blues" and "country," except for the ethnicity of the performer, and even that was sometimes documented incorrectly by record companies. These lines of distinction were breeched once and for all in the early 1950’s by a young man from Tupelo named Elvis Presley, thereby unleashing a flood that spread worldwide and continually metamorphosized until it became today’s Rock and Roll. The power of this music has done more to bridge cultural oceans and tear down barriers between people than anything else the world has ever known. So the next time you’re groovin’ to your favorite song on the radio, you can thank Mr. Handy. And if you want to see where it all began, head down to 329 Beale, and visit the Daisy Theater.
The Daisy is a prime surviving example of nickelodeon architecture from the early cinema era. The tiny hall features a grand half dome entrance on Memphis's famous Beale Street. The Daisy is unusual in that the stage and screen are on the sidewalk end. Double doors on either side of the half-dome enter into small vestibules one on either side of the stage. Emerging from the vestibules, you have the audience looking at you. This was done primarily due to the fact that the entertainment at The Daisy often included activities that were not exactly legal, such as gambling and sometimes even prostitution. Patrons who would be so engaged would be able to see who was coming in the doors, be they Law Enforcement or even an angry wife or girlfriend before their eyes could adjust to the dimly lit theater and make a hasty retreat toward the back of the room. On stage there is even a trap door which leads down to a tunnel under Beale Street that comes out across the street! During much of the 20th century Beale Street served as the business and entertainment center for African-Americans from all over the Mid-South. Despite its tiny stage, the Daisy was a prime performing venue on the so-called "Chitlin' Circuit" from the 1930's up into the 1960's.
We recently sat down with Mr. Randle Catron, Executive Director of The Beale Street Development Corporation. Mr. Catron is a historian and caretaker of this Unique Memphis treasure who showed us around and told us the story of The Daisy (See the video). I can tell you my friend, it was a real thrill to stand on the very stage Where W.C. Handy performed The Memphis Blues and gave birth to modern American music! If you’d like to feel the history that changed the world, I highly recommend a trip to The Daisy Theater. You can call Mr. Catron at 525-7775 to make your arrangements. If you’d like to have your next function at The Daisy, it seats 660 people and is ideal for everything from Banquets to live performances. The Daisy Theater is located at 329 Beale and it’s today’s Underground Memphis treasure! Join me for your ride home each afternoon on WRVR 104.5 The River! And always remember to keep a smile on your face, Hope in your heart and always ALWAYS Keep the Faith Baby! Your ride home, Bill
